LI Dairy Queen Employees Work Without Masks: Video

MEDFORD, NY — On July 4, Brandon Trotta of Medford and his two children decided to drive through Dairy Queen for Blizzards and milkshakes.

He said he didn't expect the outing would lead to a viral video that as of Tuesday has garnered 105,000 views on Facebook and touched the nerves of some Long Islanders.

Trotta was shocked when he looked at the worker making his order.

"I could see the person preparing the shakes wasn't masked," Trotta told Patch. Restaurant workers must wear masks, according to New York's current health policy.

Trotta said when the cashier brought over another worker, she also wasn't wearing a mask and soon the encounter became heated.

"She was yelling that she doesn't need to wear a mask because she's not dealing with the public, which was 100 percent wrong," Trotta said.

Because he had his phone in his hand to pay, he decided to begin filming.

"Instead of just remaking the shakes, she decided to argue with me and yell in my face without a mask," he said.

Trotta claims at least three employees were unmasked. The worker seen in the video said "give him his f----- money, and get out of here" and gave him the middle finger.

Trotta called Suffolk County's 311 helpline and said he was told to file a complaint online. According to the governor's office, all food workers are required to wear a mask at all times.

A representative from Dairy Queen's corporate headquarters told Patch they sent Trotta the following message:

"Thank you for bringing this serious concern to our attention, Brandon. We share your concerns and are in contact with the franchise owner of this restaurant who tells us the crew member is on suspension pending an internal investigation, which will be of the crew member’s demeanor and review of mask use to ensure compliance with local government regulations.

"Know that Dairy Queen expects its franchisees and franchisees’ employees to treat every person they serve safely with both dignity and respect and we are sorry that wasn’t your experience. Thank you again for sharing your experience as it helps us continue to improve."

Trotta said he would like an apology from the store owners.

"I would not have even posted it except for the fact she flipped us off with her middle finger," he said. "I want her fired and I want a public apology to me and my children."

The owners of the Medford Dairy Queen franchise sent the following statement to Patch via the Dairy Queen corporate communications office:

I realize it’s a little late, but perhaps there is an opportunity to provide an update to the story?

“We’re sorry this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we take full responsibility. The behavior of this employee is unacceptable, and all employees are required to wear masks in our restaurant at this time unless they have a medical condition that prevents them from doing so. We immediately suspended the employee who made the lewd gesture, retrained our employees about proper mask wearing, and conducted an internal investigation. Upon completing the investigation, we demoted the employee from her manager role and are providing her with additional training."

"After talking with employees and the fan involved, we recognize that we underestimated the toll operating in a COVID-19 environment is having on our team and our fan experience. We previously reduced shifts to five hours and raised our hourly rate by $4, and we now realize we need to do more. We are committing today to provide well-being services to our employees, including: stress management and self-care training, counseling services and emotional fitness coaching. Our intent is to provide a healthy and safe place for our employees to work and for our fans to enjoy foods and treats. We can and will do better.”